Hermione's first love
by minervamcgonagall89
Summary: Hi, this is my 1st story. I hope u like it and that my English is good enough. Please review :-) I based it on the films because I didn't like the description of MMcG in the books but I adore Maggie Smith, so I had her in mind while writing. The illustration is mine too. ;-) It'll be more about an intimate friendship than a relationship, hope u don't mind ;-)
1. Chapter 1

It was the beginning of Hermione's fourth year at Hogwarts. She had just boarded the Hogwarts Express and had found herself a compartment together with Ron and Harry. The two of them were talking excitedly about the new year to come, about all the things they were going to do when they got there, about Quidditch practice, about who the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher would be, about their new subjects…

Hermione was always interested in new subjects. She had started reading all her new school books as soon as she had bought them at Flourish & Blotts and she had nearly finished them by now. She did that every year. This year, however, had been different. She still looked forward to the new term as always, but she was less interested than usual in all the new spells and stuff she would learn. No, there was something else on her mind that had kept her busy all summer. A feeling she did not quite understand, but it was a pleasant feeling after all.

She had been thinking about professor McGonagall more and more. She had always liked her teacher. She was smart and serious and brave, everything that Hermione admired so much. She wanted to be like her. Last year, the professor had lent her a time turner so she would be able to take all the courses she wanted. McGonagall had told her that time turners could be dangerous in the wrong hands and that it was a great responsibility but that she trusted Hermione and thought she was very responsible and serious enough not to meddle with time and to use the time turner for the right purposes. Hermione had felt proud about this and was determined to prove she could handle this new responsibility and she did.

Every now and again, professor McGonagall, being their Head of House, had wanted a conversation with Hermione about how her lessons were going and also to make sure that Hermione wasn't overworking herself. McGonagall always invited Hermione to her office and they would have tea and a biscuit while they talked. Lately they had started talking about other things as well. They had in-depth conversations about difficult transfiguration issues and the professor told her a bit more about some well-known witches like Rowena Ravenclaw and Artemisia Lufkin, the first female Minister of Magic. Those women were all very intelligent and hard-working, just like Hermione and, she realized, just like McGonagall. Her professor seemed to admire those women very much, her bookshelves were full of books written by and about them.

At first, Hermione found it a bit confusing to meet her teacher outside the classroom and to see her as a normal person instead of just a teacher. When in class, there was always a certain distance. Hermione understood why, McGonagall couldn't be too friendly with one of her students, but it bothered her. During their conversations they got on really well and talked a lot and then suddenly in class, the professor was stand-offish and treated her like any other student.

During the summer holidays, Hermione found herself thinking more and more about her professor. She tried to remember the conversations they had and started longing for the new term. She just hoped they would continue to meet outside class, like they did last year. Perhaps not, because Hermione wouldn't be using the time-turner now, since it had proven to be a bit too much for her last year. The thought that their meetings might be over for good, made a slight panic rise inside her chest. She had been looking forward to those meetings, more and more.

Lately, Hermione found herself not only thinking about their conversations but also about McGonagall's smile, her light blue eyes, the softness of her emerald green robes which had brushed her hand now and again and about the sunlight that played on the brown hair bringing a ginger glow to it. Every time she thought about her professor, a slight smile played around her mouth and she felt a rush of affection going through her body. She didn't mind and didn't pay much attention to it, because it was a nice feeling. She kept it to herself though, this was something only she needed to know.

In the train, Hermione stared through the window and watched the landscape slide past. They had left London behind and were now gliding through the rolling countryside, passing some small village now and again. Hermione just stared but didn't really take in what she saw. She could only think about the feeling of velvet brushing past her hand, the smell of books and strong Lady Grey tea and the small lips of her professor curling into a lovely smile. She was so far away that she didn't hear Ron and Harry until they shouted her name for the third time. She looked around, bewildered, and saw that the lady with the trolley had arrived at their compartment. Ron was already buying all the different types of sweets and asked if Hermione wanted some too. She said she wasn't hungry. She didn't know if she was or not, to be quite frankly, she hadn't thought about it, her mind was somewhere else entirely.

When the train arrived at Hogsmeade station, the sun was already slowly disappearing behind the mountains. Hagrid greeted them and lead them to the carriages, drawn by the invisible Thestrals. Hermione watched the castle come closer and closer. Automatically, her gaze swerved to one of the little towers, and yes, one of the windows was lit, it was Hers.

As Hermione left the carriage and entered the castle through the great doors, she felt her heart jump, she was home again.

As soon as they had unpacked all their stuff in the dormitory and changed into their school robes, they went down to the Great Hall for the start of term banquet and the sorting ceremony. In the Great Hall, Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table with Ron on her right and Harry on her left. Everybody was laughing and talking excitedly. After all, most of them had not seen each other during the holidays, so they had to catch up on everything. Although Hermione was usually the one whose voice could be heard above all others, she was exceptionally quite this evening. She could not keep her attention to the conversation her friends were having. Instead, she kept glancing at the teachers table but she could not find the familiar emerald green robes nor the pointed witches' hat that her beloved professor used to wear at such occasions. Hermione was filled with a sudden sadness at the sight of the empty chair next to professor Dumbledore.

But then, all conversation died as the great doors swung open and professor McGonagall entered the Great Hall, followed by a large group of first years. Hermione's heart gave a slight jolt and she felt a funny feeling in her stomach when she saw McGonagall coming towards her with the loveliest smile on her face and a twinkling in her eyes. As she passed, Hermione heard the rustling of robes and took in the familiar smell of books, strong tea and the subtle but powerful spicy perfume that She always wore.

During the sorting ceremony, led by McGonagall, Hermione could not keep her eyes of the professor. She studied every movement she made and every word she spoke. In the end, she had no idea which students had been sorted in which houses. Ron or Harry gave her a nudge now and again to try and engage her in their conversation. She tried to concentrate on what they were talking about and to seem interested in the subject, but after a short while, her thoughts swerved to some place far away. It wasn't until everybody around her started talking about their timetables and Harry asked her what their first course would be the next day, that Hermione woke up from her reveries. She had learned her timetable by heart and not only hers, but Ron's and Harry's as well. She certainly remembered which would be their first lesson tomorrow. It was transfiguration. She had been looking forward to that all summer and that night she could hardly sleep from excitement.

She woke early. The other girls were still asleep and so she had some time of her own. Hermione liked that, she liked being on her own and preferred the silence to all the chatter and laughter. She got out of bed and went down the stairs, making sure she made as less noise as possible. The stone steps felt cold under her bare feet and she was glad when she got to the common room and the warm carpet. The fire in the fireplace was gone, there were only cinders left that were glowing faintly. She sat down before one of the large windows overlooking the grounds and the Black Lake. The trees in the Forbidden Forest were already starting to colour yellow, orange and red. And so was the tree that stood nearby the lake. She, Ron and Harry had spent a lot of warm summer days under that tree and they would do so again this year.

A few hours later, when walking down the corridor with Ron and Harry towards the Transfiguration classroom, Hermione started to feel a bit nervous. She had never felt that way, only before exams and they wouldn't get one on their first day of term.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When they entered the classroom, McGonagall was already standing behind her desk. As soon as Hermione set eyes on her, she felt her knees go weak. The professor caught her eye as she walked past and smiled to her. Hermione felt her face turn scarlet and she tried to hide it by turning away quickly and rummaging in her bag so her long hair would hide her face. She just hoped fiercely that McGonagall hadn't noticed anything.

The lesson began. Like always, the professor would teach them something new about some Transfiguration matter, they would practice a certain spell and now and again, she would ask the students questions to check if they had done their homework properly. Hermione was always the first to put up her hand and answer all the questions, but now there was something strange, she didn't dare to speak out loud. For some reason, she was convinced that she wouldn't be able to talk properly, that she would start to stammer as soon as she felt McGonagall watching her. So Hermione kept quiet, but that didn't go unnoticed and sure enough/therefore, the professor looked a bit concerned when she asked Hermione if she really didn't know how to turn a match into a needle (this was one of the simplest spells). This made Hermione blush even harder, she didn't want McGonagall to think that she was that stupid. So she answered the professor's question as well as possible. Her voice trembled and her hands were all sweaty, but she believed nobody had noticed so far.

When the lesson was over, Hermione felt a bit relieved, glad that she could no longer make a fool of herself. But that night, lying in bed, the other girls already asleep, she kept thinking about today and was annoyed with herself for acting so stupidly, while in fact, she had wanted to impress her professor with her cleverness. Instead she had acted like a fool and the worst thing was, that she couldn't help it.

It stayed like that for the rest of the week. She felt nervous as soon as she set eyes on McGonagall and started to blush. That's what she hated most, because she couldn't hide it. After a while, Ron and Harry started making remarks about it. They thought she was in love and tried to find out with whom. This infuriated her and made her blush even more. She said she was just hot because she had to run to be on time and quickly opened her books and started to read or write, to avoid their teasing questions.

Hermione had always enjoyed the Transfiguration courses but now they had turned into a living hell and every night she cursed herself for behaving so stupidly.

For the end of the week, McGonagall had set an exam. Despite all her emotional troubles, Hermione had managed to learn everything by heart and she was satisfied that she had been able to reach her usual standards. At least she was still able to do this, this had not been ruined.

They were sitting in rows. Because the room was rather small, and the class very big, the rows were not so far apart. This to Harry and Ron's joy because it made it easier for them to copy Hermione's work. To her relief, Hermione was able to answer all the exam questions easily. Now she was able to write her answers down instead of saying them out loud in front of the whole class. Now she didn't stammer and could be herself again.

When she had nearly finished her exam, someone a bit further down Hermione's row, put up her hand. McGonagall came forward to answer the girls question. Hermione heard the professor walking in her direction, but didn't dare look up from her work, for fear of blushing again. The girl was not allowed to speak too loud, so as not to disturb the others, so McGonagall had to lean in a bit to be able to make out the girls question. Hermione heard the rustling of robes and with a shock, she felt the hip of her professor press against her back, as she was leaning over.

The feeling of shock disappeared quickly and turned into something else, something she didn't understand and she couldn't believe feeling. She didn't want this to stop, she wished her professors hip would always be pressed against her like this. She felt the warmth from her body (or was it Hermione's body that was growing so hot?) and could think of nothing else. Only: Please make this last forever. But then, the feeling was gone and Hermione watched her professor walk back to her desk. She dared to look up because McGonagall's back was turned.

From that moment onwards, something had changed. Hermione had felt her professors body and not just a hand. Now, whenever she saw McGonagall, she found herself studying her body and not just taking in the sight of the emerald green robes, but actually thinking about what was underneath them. The body of a woman, just like her own, though older of course. Strange, but she had never thought about her professor in that way.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When, a few weeks later, McGonagall asked her to stay behind after class, Hermione's heart started to beat at an incredible speed, nearly jumping out of her chest. What with all the blushing and the heat that started to rise inside her, she felt suddenly quite sick. She just stammered a simple 'yes', that was all she was able to utter.

The two hours of Transfiguration class seemed to last eternally. Hermione didn't pay as much attention as usual because all sorts of thoughts kept going through her head. What did McGonagall want to see her for? Would they have meetings again? Would it go further than last year? Would they get to know each other better? Would they… No, that could never be.

Perhaps it wasn't that at all. What if McGonagall had noticed? Had noticed how Hermione had an unusual lack of concentration, how she struggled to answer questions in class? An awful thought came into her head. What if she had noticed the other thing, the way Hermione felt? She would find out, she would be disgusted.

At the end of the lesson, Hermione watched the rest of the class leave. Harry and Ron said they would meet her in the Common Room later. They didn't seem surprised, they were already used to Hermione having meetings with McGonagall.

Hermione tried to look as casual as possible as she walked up to McGonagall's desk, but she couldn't remember how to walk normally. All of a sudden, she became very self-conscious as she felt her professors eyes on her. In the end, she decided to just stand still and wait for McGonagall to speak. "Miss Granger, I wanted to make an appointment for a short meeting, just like we had last year. Since it's the beginning of a new term, I would like to have a talk with you about your new subjects, about how everything is going."

Hermione felt so relieved. This was what she had hoped for, their meetings to be continued. She felt the tension leave her body and she actually managed to smile at McGonagall after they had set the meeting for next Friday, after school. The professor returned her smile with a flicker in the light blue eyes. Hermione felt her heart melt and had to suppress the urge to bring her hand up to the woman's face and stroke the soft, light skin, to let her fingertips run over the coral colored lips curved into a thin smile. She was a bit shocked by her own feelings.

She felt a pleasant kind of warmth flowing through her body as she ran through the corridors and practically dashed up the stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room. McGonagall wanted to meet her, they would start their meetings again and she hadn't found out!

That Friday, she would meet McGonagall in her office at 8 PM. Hermione, Ron and Harry had just got back from dinner in the Great Hall. Ron asked her if she would help him with his Potions essay, but she said she had no time because she would meet McGonagall. "But your meeting is at 8 PM, you still have an hour", Ron said annoyed. She replied that she needed to go through some stuff which she would be discussing with her professor. This was not entirely true, or in fact not at all true. She didn't need to prepare anything for their meeting, it was just that Hermione suddenly felt so ugly in her jeans and sweater, with her uncombed hair. How would She ever notice her dressed like this? She wanted to impress her.

Hermione entered the dormitory and went through all her clothes. After a long search, she picked out a night blue dress with matching cardigan and ballerina's. Then she started to comb her hair and she put it up with some glittering hairpins. She turned round and round in front of the mirror, admiring her tiny waist, set off beautifully by the silky dress. She decided to put on some eye shadow as well and then left for the Common Room. But halfway down the stairs, she saw her reflection in the stained-glass window and suddenly ran back upstairs, wiped the eye shadow of her eyes (it looked as if she had made too much of an effort) and pulled the pins out of her hair. She glanced at the old clock in the corner and saw that she only had 5 minutes to get to McGonagall's office. Oh how she hoped the staircases wouldn't change too much, she would hate to be late.


End file.
